This application claims the priority of German Application No. DE 102 56 753.0 filed Dec. 5, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to an air guiding device on a draft deflector of a motor vehicle which is equipped with a sliding roof or the like and which comprises an air guiding element which, in an operative position, projects beyond the draft deflector in a raised manner.
From European Patent Document EP 0 374 421 B1 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,745), a draft deflector for a sliding roof is known on which an air guiding element is arranged which, in an operative position, projects over the draft deflector and, in an inoperative position, is arranged below the sliding roof. The air guiding element is swivellably held on the draft deflector either by way of a stationary swivelling shaft or an elastic shaft, for the purpose of which the air guiding element is connected with the draft deflector by means of gluing or molding-on.
It is an object of the invention to create an air guiding device on a draft deflector which can be mounted in a simple manner and, in addition, is elastically adjustable into an operative and into an inoperative position.
This object is achieved according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention by providing an air guiding device on a draft deflector for a motor vehicle which is equipped with a sliding roof or the like and which comprises an air guiding element which, in an operative position, projects beyond the draft deflector in a raised manner, wherein the air guiding element comprises a holding section with at least one adjoining elastic wing, the holding section being held in use in a clamped-in manner in a transverse slot of the draft deflector, the wing extending out of the slot above the draft deflector in an approximately vertical plane, when an operative position, the wing being arranged in an elastically bent manner below the sliding roof when in an inoperative position.
Additional advantageous features of preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein and in the claims.
Important advantages achieved by means of certain preferred embodiments of the invention are that the air guiding element can easily be mounted in a transverse slot of the draft deflector and can easily be exchanged. For this purpose, the air guiding element has a holding section with at least one adjoining elastic wing. The holding section is held in a clamped-in manner in a transverse slot of the draft deflector and, in the operative position, the wing extends out of the slot and is arranged above the draft deflector. In an inoperative position, the wing is elastically bent away and arranged below the sliding roof.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the air guiding element is slid from below into the transverse slot of the draft deflector and is clamped in because of its slightly larger thickness with respect to the smaller width of the transverse slot. As a result, the air guiding element is fixedly and stationarily held in its inoperative position and in its possible operative positions.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the transverse slot is provided in an existing interior web of the draft deflector and penetrates the latter on a section. For this purpose, the draft deflector consists of a profiled element which, in a transversely extending interior web, has the continuous transverse slot of the same width which is arranged in the longitudinal center plane of the vehicle.
So that the wing of the air guiding element cannot be pressed into the transverse slot and dive away, the holding section of the wing has a larger thickness than the adjoining wing and is offset with respect to the latter by a surrounding edge according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention. This surrounding edge of the wing is constructed as a sealing and holding element with respect to the transverse slot. The edge tightly closes the transverse slot, for example, with respect to water and air from above so that these media cannot enter into the interior of the vehicle.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the surrounding edge separates the holding section from the actual wing of the air guiding element so that an elastic bending edge can form adjacent to the edge such that an elastic bending edge forms between the surrounding edge and the adjoining wing in such a manner that, by an action upon the sliding roof, the wing has an inoperative position bent in the driving direction around the bending edge and, in the operative position, has a vertical position and, during high wind load stress, has a load position bent around the bending edge against the driving direction.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the air guiding element can always be positioned in a precise manner and cannot be pushed into the transverse slot uncontrolled, the holding section has a boundary bead at the end side, which boundary bead can, for example, also be provided on a tongue shaped onto the holding section. This boundary section has a larger width than the transverse slot.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, for ensuring a constant position of the air guiding element in the transverse slot of the draft deflector, the bead of the holding element in an inoperative position is supported on an elevation of the roof frame so that, in this position, the air guiding element can necessarily be positioned in a precise manner.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, as a result of the erected air guiding element in the operative position, a so-called rumbling in the vehicle interior is avoided which is caused by air vibrations generated by an air flow guided over the vehicle roof.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.